Cleared! Moment tennis referee who 'killed her husband with a mug' learned charges will be THROWN OUT over lack of evidence

After leaving court today a free woman, former U.S. Open tennis referee Lois Goodman told reporters gathered outside that she wants her old job back.

Having been accused of killing her 80-year-old husband with a mug, Goodman was released today after the case against her was dismissed due to insufficient evidence and without prejudice.

When asked if she would return to work as a referee, Goodman, 70, said, 'Definitely' and her attorney commended her to the United States Tennis Association, reminding then of her innocence.

Case dropped: Ms Triessl, (left), smiles with Lois Goodman, a tennis umpire accused of fatally bludgeoning her 80 year old husband today after the case against her was dropped

Goodman was officiating qualifying
matches at the U.S Open over the summer when she was arrested by police
for the murder of her husband Alan, who died after suffering 'deep
penetrating blunt force trauma.'

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However, today at the request of the
Los Angeles County district attorney's office, the case against Goodman
was dropped after they said that they 'could not proceed'.

Lois Goodman addresses the media after all charges were dropped in a preliminary hearing at the Van Nuys Courthouse today

According to the Los Angeles Times,
who cited law enforcement sources familiar with the case, experts
involved with the investigation revealed that the evidence might now
show that Alan Goodman's death was an accident.

'I don't know much about the system,' Goodman said. 'I feel I have been treated fairly now and it was just a tragic accident.'

After the judge agreed to dismiss the
case, reports the Times, Goodman turned and kissed one of her defense
attorneys, Alison Triessl.

Another of her attorneys, Robert Sheahen, thanked prosecutors for fulfilling their 'moral and legal' obligation, the paper said.

However, the investigation into the mysterious death will continue and investigators in Los Angeles have said that they have no other suspects in the case and still suspect murder.

It is unclear whether prosecutors will refile charges.

Accused: Lois Ann Goodman, seen after her arrest in New York, denies killing her elderly husband at their home in Los Angeles, California in April

'Victim': The tennis referee's husband of nearly 50
years, Alan
(left), was found covered in blood next to a broken mug. Ms Goodman (right)
told police she found him after returning to their home in LA and
believed he had fallen

In this Aug. 29, 2012, file photo, tennis umpire Lois Goodman looks on during a hearing in a Van Nuys, California courtroom where she pleaded not guilty in the death of her husband

'Coffee Cup Murder' - A Timeline of the Case Against Lois Goodman

August 20th 2012 - After a four month long investigation Lois Goodman is arrested in New York by LA police while she waiting to work at the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

October 3rd 2012 - Goodman appears in court to be charged with the brutal bludgeoning of her husband to death with a coffee mug - as her lawyer saus she passed a lie detector test.

November 30th 2012 - Los Angeles County district attorney's office asked a judge on Friday to drop the murder charge against tennis umpire Lois Goodman citing a lack of evidence

The 70-year-old Goodman had been
accused of bludgeoning her 80-year-old husband to death with a coffee
cup. She said she was innocent and her lawyers suggested Alan Goodman
died in an accidental fall.

The couple had been married 50 years
and had three grown daughters. They had lived in the San Fernando Valley
area of Los Angeles their entire lives.

Lawyers representing Lois Ann Goodman, centre, have argued that the death of Alan Goodman was 'a freak accident'

Alan Goodman died in April.
Authorities initially believed he fell down stairs at home while his
wife was away but later decided it was homicide after a mortuary
reported suspicious injuries on his head. They then alleged he had been
clobbered on the head with a coffee mug and began to treat Goodman as a
suspect.

But defense lawyers said there was
little forensic evidence in the case because of the delay in the
investigation.

Ms Goodman was arrested in New York in August shortly before she was due to referee at the world-renowned US Open tennis tournament